Systems and methods for detection and visualization of reflection glares

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided to determine glare information. An optical filter is configured to attenuate visible light and pass near-infrared light and an image sensor is configured to detect light reflected by a surface after the reflected light passes through the optical filter. The image sensor is further configured to generate image data comprising a detected near-infrared portion of the light reflected by the surface. Processing circuitry is configured to receive the image data from the image sensor and determine near-infrared glare information based on the received image. The near-infrared glare information can be used to adjust display parameter associated with the surface or characterize near-infrared glare properties of the surface.

INTRODUCTION

Vehicles commonly incorporate active lighting components, such as LEDsor OLEDs, to convey information to occupants of the vehicle, e.g., via adashboard display. Light is emitted by the lighting components in thevisible light spectrum to enable the vehicle occupants to perceive theinformation. However, sunlight comprising light in the ultraviolet,infrared and visible spectrum that enters the vehicle during daytimedrives reflects off interior vehicle surfaces. Such reflections ofvisible light can cause vehicle occupants to be subjected to glare whenobserving the display, which makes it difficult for vehicle occupants toperceive information (e.g., GPS directions, media information) providedby the lighting components in the visible light spectrum. There is aneed to enable the impact of reflection glare to be quantitativelyassessed, and there is also a need for a technique to better counteractreflection glare while a vehicle is being operated.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present disclosure, systems and methods areprovided that employ an image sensor to detect, and generate image databased on, a near-infrared portion of light reflected by a surface, anddetermine near-infrared glare information based on the image data. Suchsystems and methods may employ an optical filter configured to attenuatevisible light and pass near-infrared light, and an image sensorconfigured to detect light reflected by a surface after the reflectedlight passes through the optical filter and generate image datacomprising a detected near-infrared portion of the light reflected bythe surface. Processing circuitry may be configured to receive the imagedata from the image sensor, and determine near-infrared glareinformation based on the received image data.

In addition, systems and methods for counteracting glare in a vehiclemay be provided to receive image data, which comprises a portion oflight reflected by an interior surface of a vehicle, from an imagesensor in the vehicle. Glare information may be determined based on thereceived image data, and a determination of whether glare is present ona display of the vehicle may be made based on the glare information. Inresponse to determining that glare is present, a parameter associatedwith the display to counteract the glare may be adjusted. In someembodiments, the portion of light is a near-infrared portion of light,and the glare information is near-infrared glare information.

In addition, the provided systems and methods may cause a light sourceto irradiate a surface with light from a plurality of angles, where thelight comprises a near-infrared portion, and image data generated basedon detecting the near-infrared portion of light reflected by the surfacein response to irradiating the surface with the light from the pluralityof angles may be received from an image sensor. For each of theplurality of angles, the image data may be processed to determine anamount of near-infrared glare to characterize near-infrared glareproperties of the surface, and the near-infrared glare properties of thesurface may be output.

In some embodiments, the surface may comprise an interior display of avehicle.

In some embodiments, the image data comprises a plurality of pixels, andthe processing circuitry is configured to determine near-infrared glareinformation (e.g., to be used in determining whether glare is present onthe display of the vehicle), or determine an amount of near-infraredglare to characterize near-infrared glare properties of the surface,based on the received image data by: determining, for each pixel of theplurality of pixels, respective intensity values; and identifying one ormore pixels of the plurality of pixels having an intensity value thatexceeds a predetermined threshold intensity value.

In some embodiments, the image data comprises a plurality of pixels, andthe processing circuitry is configured to determine near-infrared glareinformation (e.g., to be used in determining whether glare is present onthe display of the vehicle), or determine an amount of near-infraredglare to characterize near-infrared glare properties of the surface,based on the received image data by: determining, for each pixel of theplurality of pixels, respective intensity values; and identifyingmultiple pixels of the plurality of pixels having an intensity valuethat exceeds a predetermined threshold intensity value.

In some embodiments, the image data comprises a plurality of pixels, andthe processing circuitry is configured to determine near-infrared glareinformation (e.g., to be used in determining whether glare is present onthe display of the vehicle), or determine an amount of near-infraredglare to characterize near-infrared glare properties of the surface,based on the received image data by: determining, for each pixel of theplurality of pixels, respective intensity values; identifying multiplepixels of the plurality of pixels having an intensity value that exceedsa predetermined threshold intensity value; and determining glare ispresent at multiple regions of the image data, wherein each of themultiple regions comprises a separate grouping of a subset of theidentified multiple pixels.

In some embodiments, the parameter associated with the display of thevehicle that is adjusted in response to determining that glare ispresent comprises at least one of a contrast ratio or brightness.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods may determine, based oninput received from one or more position sensors, that a change in anorientation of the vehicle is occurring or is about to occur. Based onthe determined change in the orientation and based on the near-infraredglare information, a prediction may be generated of a location on thedisplay where glare is likely to be present in response to the change inthe orientation of the vehicle. The adjusting of the parameterassociated with the display of the vehicle may be performed based onthis prediction.

In some embodiments, the image sensor is disposed at a location thatcorresponds to an approximate height of the operator of the vehicle andthat is in a vicinity of a head rest location of an operator seat of thevehicle.

In some embodiments, determining whether glare is present on the displayof the vehicle based on the near-infrared glare information comprisesdetermining glare is present at a region of image data that correspondsto the display, and adjusting the parameter associated with the displayto counteract the glare comprises adjusting a parameter in a portion ofthe display that corresponds to the region of the image data where glareis present and not adjusting the parameter in a different portion of thedisplay.

In some embodiments, determining glare is present at the region of imagedata that corresponds to the display comprises determining, for eachpixel of the plurality of pixels, respective intensity values andidentifying multiple pixels of the plurality of pixels having anintensity value that exceeds a predetermined threshold intensity value.In some embodiments, determining glare is present at the region of imagedata that corresponds to the display comprises determining glare ispresent at multiple regions of the image data, where each of themultiple regions comprises a separate grouping of a subset of theidentified multiple pixels, at least one of the regions corresponding tothe display and at least one of the regions corresponding to anadditional display, and adjusting the parameter associated with thedisplay to counteract the glare further comprises adjusting a parameterin a portion of the additional display that corresponds to the region ofthe image data where glare is present and not adjusting the parameter ina different portion of the additional display

In some embodiments, causing the light source to irradiate the surfacewith light from the plurality of angles comprises moving the lightsource to a plurality of positions respectively corresponding to theplurality of angles. In some embodiments, an amount of scattering, or adistribution of scattering, associated with the reflected light, isdetermined. In some embodiments, processing the image data to determinean amount of near-infrared glare comprises determining a size of aregion of the image data that comprises multiple pixels having anintensity that exceeds a predetermined threshold intensity value. Insome embodiments, causing the light source to irradiate the surface withlight from the plurality of angles comprises moving the surface to aplurality of positions respectively corresponding to the plurality ofangles, wherein the light source remains stationary when irradiating thesurface with light from the plurality of angles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure, in accordance with one or more variousembodiments, is described in detail with reference to the followingfigures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only andmerely depict typical or example embodiments. These drawings areprovided to facilitate an understanding of the concepts disclosed hereinand should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, orapplicability of these concepts. It should be noted that for clarity andease of illustration, these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a digital camera, in accordance withsome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an exemplary vehicle in which an imagesensor may be configured to generate image data for use in determiningnear-infrared glare information, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary interior of a vehicle in which an image sensormay be configured to generate image data for use in determiningnear-infrared glare information, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A-4B show block diagrams of components of a system forcharacterizing near-infrared glare properties of a surface, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of components of a system of a vehicle inwhich an image sensor may be configured to generate image data for usein determining near-infrared glare information, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows an image of a vehicle dashboard captured by a camera whichdoes not include a longpass near-infrared filter that is employed insome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows an image of a vehicle dashboard captured by a cameracomprising a longpass near-infrared filter, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows images of a vehicle dashboard captured by a camera fromvarious angles, where the camera comprises a longpass near-infraredfilter, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of an illustrative process for determiningnear-infrared glare information, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of illustrative process for adjusting aparameter associated with a display of a vehicle to counteract glare, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of illustrative process for outputtingnear-infrared glare properties, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows an exemplary technique of using image data to determinenear-infrared glare information, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary technique of determining near-infrared glareinformation based on multiple images, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary image representing near-infrared glareproperties of a surface, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to improved techniques for thedetection and visualization of reflection glares, and more particularlyto employing an image sensor to detect, and generate image data basedon, a near-infrared portion of light reflected by a surface, in order todetermine near-infrared glare information based on the image data and/oradjust a parameter associated with a display of a vehicle (in which theimage sensor may be located) to counteract the glare. For example, thesystems and methods described herein may be implemented using digitalcamera 110 depicted in FIG. 1 .

Digital camera 110 is configured to receive light 101 from itssurrounding environment through lens 102, which may be configured tofocus the received light 101 towards image sensor 106. Light 101 maythen pass through longpass optical filter 104 configured to highlyattenuate a portion of light 101 in the visible light spectrum, and passwith low attenuation a portion 105 of light 101 that is in the nearinfrared (NIR) range of wavelengths. As referred to herein, the visiblelight spectrum should be understood as the range of wavelengths of theelectromagnetic spectrum that can be detected by the human eye (about380 nm to 760 nm), and the NIR region should be understood as the rangeof wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum from about 750 to 2500nm.

In some embodiments, longpass optical filter 104 may comprise anabsorptive or dichroic filter having one or more layers of glass,plastic, substrates, dielectric materials, epoxy and/or metals. In someembodiments, longpass optical filter 104 may be a bandpass filter thatpasses NIR light and attenuates long-wave infrared light and visiblelight. In some embodiments, longpass optical filter 104 may be a colorfilter or gel filter. In some approaches, cameras have employed one ormore of a longpass blue optical filter and a shortpass infrared opticalfilter, respectively used to attenuate ultraviolet and infrared light(e.g., so that only wavelengths in a range of 380 nm-740 nm aredetected). In some embodiments, such longpass blue optical filter andshortpass infrared optical filter may be intentionally omitted orremoved from camera 110, to facilitate detection of light within the NIRrange (e.g., such as in a range of 800-1100 nm).

Image sensor 106 detects NIR light 105 passed or transmitted throughfilter 104, and generates image data based on the detected NIR light byconverting NIR light 105 comprising photons into electrical signals. Insome embodiments, image sensor 106 may be a charge-coupled device (CCD)comprising an array of light-sensitive pixels or capacitors storingcharge corresponding to an intensity of light received by each pixel,where such pixels may act as a photodiode to convert photons of specificwavelengths to photocurrent. Semiconductor bandgap materials such assilicon, capable of detecting photons having wavelengths up to 1200 nm,and germanium, e.g., InGaAs-based CCD or CMOS capable of detectingphotons having wavelengths of 900 nm-2600 nm, may be utilized infabricating the CCD. In some embodiments, image sensor 106 may becomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors where each pixelcomprises a CMOS transistor. The image data generated by image sensor106 may be an analog output and digitized at analog-to-digital converter(ADC) 108 for processing at processor 112. In some embodiments,processor 112 may comprise ADC 108 to digitize the image data generatedby image sensor 106.

Processor 112 may comprise a hardware processor, a software processor(e.g., a processor emulated using a virtual machine), or any combinationthereof, and may be configured to perform image processing on the imagedata generated by image sensor 106. For example, processor 112 may causethe image data generated by image sensor 106 to be stored in memory 114,and processor 112 may analyze or operate on a plurality of pixels of theimage data to determine whether glare is presented based on glareinformation. For example, processor 100 may identify one or more pixelsor groups of pixels having an intensity value above a predeterminedthreshold, and determine whether glare is present based on near-infraredglare information or properties, as discussed in further detail below.In some embodiments, a distribution of glare in the image data may bedetermined by processor 112 (or another computing device incommunication with camera 110). Processor 112 may store the image dataor processed image data at memory 114, and/or transmit the image data orprocessed image data via input/output (I/O) circuitry 116 (e.g.,wirelessly or via a wired connection) to another computing device. Asreferred to herein, glare should be understood as an amount ofbrightness concentrated on an object that impairs the ability of aperson to visually observe an object. Moreover, attempting to view anobject associated with the glare may cause the person discomfort orirritation.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an exemplary vehicle 200 in which imagesensor 106 of FIG. 1 may be configured to generate image data for use indetermining near-infrared glare information, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. Any number of digital cameras211, which may correspond to digital camera 110 comprising image sensor106 of FIG. 1 , may be disposed at suitable locations within or externalto vehicle 200 to detect reflections of light from a light source (e.g.,the sun, depicted in the top left portion of FIG. 2 ) while driver 204is operating vehicle 200. For example, light 208, 210, 212 from the sunmay strike an exterior or interior surface of vehicle 200, and bereflected as light 214, 216, 218, respectively. FIG. 2 shows sunlightentering through a front windshield of vehicle 200, although it shouldbe appreciated that sunlight can be received from any direction, forexample, when vehicle 200 is on the move. In some embodiments, imagesensor 106 may additionally or alternatively be positioned at, or inpredefined vicinity of, a passenger seat. In some embodiments, a sensor(e.g., a lux meter) may be employed to measure illuminance at particularportions of display 306.

Camera 211 may be disposed at a location that is in a vicinity of a headrest location of operator seat 202 of vehicle 200 (e.g., in or aroundthe head rest of operator seat 202), in order to detect one or more oflight 214, 216, 218 reflected off exterior or interior surfaces ofvehicle 200. In some embodiments, two or more cameras may be disposed atlocations in a vehicle (e.g., on both sides of a head rest or in headrest and at a center position of a ceiling of vehicle 200), and imagesfrom each of the cameras may be considered in combination (e.g., animage may be interpolated based on input images from each of thecameras) to determine glare being experienced by operator 204 (e.g.,since cameras 211 may be offset from a view of operator 204) and/or apassenger seated at the passenger seat of vehicle 200. In someembodiments, portions of light 214, 216, 218 reflected off exterior orinterior portions of vehicle 200 may be specular in nature such thatlight is reflected at the same angle as an incoming angle of light 208,210, 212, or diffuse in nature such that light is reflected at adifferent angle than the incoming angles of each of light 208, 210, 212.Camera 211 may comprise processor 112 of FIG. 1 , and processor 112 mayreceive image data from image sensor 106 based on detected reflectedlight 214, 216, 218 (having been filtered by longpass filter 104 toattenuate visible light) and analyze this image data to determinenear-infrared glare information. Based on such near-infrared glareinformation, processor 112 may determine whether glare is present. Insome embodiments, the near-infrared glare information may include anindication of a distribution of glare.

In some embodiments, multiple image sensors 106 may be suitablyarranged, e.g., spaced apart in a row across a ceiling of vehicle 200,to detect reflections as light passes across display 306, such as whenvehicle 200 is on the move. For example, image sensors 106 may detectreflected light indicative of glare shifting across display 306, andperform corrective action (e.g., adjust a parameter of a portion ofdisplay 306 to counteract current glare, and adjust a parameter ofanother portion of display 306 to counteract anticipated glare at thatportion based on the detected pattern of the shifting glare).

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary interior 300 of vehicle 200 in which imagesensor 106 may be configured to generate image data for use indetermining near-infrared glare information, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. Vehicle interior or vehicle cabin300 may comprise driver seat 302, steering wheel 304, and one or moredashboard displays 306 and/or 308. Vehicle 200 may further includewindshield 320 disposed in front of driver's seat 302, a right side rearview mirror 322, a left side rear view mirror (not shown) and a rearview mirror (not shown). In some embodiments, one or more of dashboarddisplays 306 and/or 308 and/or a heads-up display at windshield 320 maydisplay various information to a user (e.g., GPS information, currentspeed information, media information, vehicle settings, time and weatherinformation, etc.) As discussed, any number of digital cameras 211comprising image sensors 106 may be positioned at suitable locationswithin vehicle 200 to detect reflections of light from a light source(e.g., the sun depicted in FIG. 3 ). For example, light from the sun maybe reflected in a specular or diffuse manner off the exterior orinterior 300 of vehicle 200, and detected by one or more image sensors106 (e.g., positioned at driver seat 302 and/or passenger seat 323).

In the example of FIG. 3 , light 312, 314, 316, 318 may strike display306 or 308 and reflect at various angles as reflected light 324, 326,328, respectively. It should be appreciated that light from the lightsource may strike any portion of vehicle 200 or interior 300 of vehicle200 (e.g., steering wheel 304, right side mirror 322, left side rearview mirror, rear view mirror, windshield 320, driver seat 302,passenger seat 323, steering wheel 304, etc.), and reflected light ofthe light from the light source may propagate in any direction (e.g.,towards any of the components of vehicle 200). In some embodiments,digital camera 211 may be positioned at a height or eye level of thedriver of vehicle 200 sitting in driver's seat 302 (and/or a passengerseated in passenger seat 323), and detect reflected light, in order todetermine near-infrared glare information while vehicle 200 is inoperation. Based on such near-infrared glare information, processor 112(and/or another computing device) may determine whether glare ispresent. In some embodiments, multiple cameras 211 may be incommunication with each other to aggregate image data from the detectedreflected light over time.

In determining near-infrared glare information, processor 112 of camera110 (and/or another computing device) may analyze image data receivedfrom image sensor 106 corresponding to the reflected light in the NIRrange to identify a region of the image data having groups of pixelswith an intensity value of NIR light that is greater than apredetermined value as a region associated with glare that may impairthe visibility of the display to driver 204 of vehicle 200. For example,pixel intensity values may correspond to a brightness of the pixelreceived from image sensor 106 (e.g., if a pixel value is represented by8 bits, a pixel value has possible values of 0 to 255, where a value of255 corresponds to white and a value of 0 corresponds to black). Itshould be appreciated that any suitable number of bits per pixel may beutilized (e.g., 8 bits per pixel, 10 bits per pixel, 24 bits per pixel,etc.). The image data may be in grayscale where each pixel correspondsto a single intensity, or color where each pixel has red, green and blue(RGB) values. In some embodiments, a distribution of glare in thereflected light may be taken into account by processor 112 (or anothercomputing device in communication with camera 110) in determiningregions of captured image data associated with glare. In someembodiments, a region of image data may be understood as predefinednumber of pixels adjacent to or otherwise in a vicinity of each other insubset of the image data. In some embodiments, successive imagescaptured within a predetermined period of time, comprising image datafrom one or more image sensors 106, may be analyzed to determinenear-infrared glare information.

In some embodiments, in response to determining that glare is present ata particular region of the image data received from image sensor 106,processor 112 may adjust a parameter associated with one or more ofdisplay 306, 308 to counteract (e.g., eliminate or reduce impact of) theglare while vehicle 200 is in operation. For example, the parameter tobe adjusted may comprise a contrast ratio or brightness of display 306,which may be increased to compensate for the detected glare and increasethe visibility of display 306. Such parameter(s) may be increased ordecreased at portions of display 306 identified as corresponding toregions of the image data depicting such portions of display 306 andindicated as being associated with glare information. In someembodiments, parameters of portions of display 306 determined not to besubject to glare need not be modified. In other words, portions ofdisplay 306 may be selectively modified to target locations where glareis determined to be present. In some embodiments, the parameter maycorrespond to color mapping, e.g., altering the display to black andwhite coloring, or altering a color of a particular portion of display306 to enable such portion to be more visible in the presence of glare.In some embodiments, a sensor (e.g., a lux meter) may be employed tomeasure illuminance at particular portions of display 306.

Image processing (e.g., edge detection, object recognition, computervision techniques) may be performed on the image data received fromimage sensor 106 to identify which region of the image data depictsdisplay 306, and which portions of display 306 should be adjusted tocompensate for glare (and which portions may not need to be adjusted).For example, pixel distance within the image data (i.e., the number ofpixels between two pixels within the image data) may be mapped to alocation of display 306 based on known dimensions or locations ofobjects within the image data. For example, the system may store alength of display 306, a distance from camera 211 to display 306, anduse these relationships to correlate pixel distance to real worlddistance. In some embodiments, multiple cameras 211 at differentlocations may be employed in a stereo vision process, where each cameraoutputs image data comprising a depiction of display 306 and/or display308, and a projection matrix of each camera 211 in the stereo visionprocess may be used to map a pixel location in the image data to alocation in display 306. In some embodiments, camera 110 may beconfigured to focus image sensor 106 on components of vehicle likely tobe susceptible to glare, e.g., display 306. For example, image data maycorrespond to a zoomed-in depiction of display 306 and/or display 308,and/or regions of image data.

FIGS. 4A-4B show block diagrams of components of a system 400 forcharacterizing near-infrared glare properties of surface 404, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. System 400may be configured such that light source 402 irradiates surface 404 withlight from a plurality of angles, and camera 406 (e.g., which maycorrespond to digital camera 110 of FIG. 1 and digital camera 211 ofFIG. 2 ) may be configured to capture images of light reflected offsurface 404 having been emitted from light source 402. In someembodiments, light source 402 may be stationary (e.g., at a fixedposition, and/or may correspond to the sun) and surface 404 may beconfigured to move (e.g., as vehicle 200 moves, and vehicle 200 maycomprise surface 404). In some embodiments, system 400 may be used todetermine glare properties of all light reflected by surface 404 (e.g.,visible light and NIR light).

For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, light source 402 may emit light fromangle 410, and the light may reflect off surface 404 as specularreflection 412 such that the light reflects off surface 404 at the samerespective angles 410 that the light was emitted from light source 402.In addition, as shown in FIG. 4B, light source 402 may emit light fromangle 414 that differs from angle 410, and reflected light 416 may bediffuse in nature such that light can be reflected at a different angle416 than incoming angle 414 at which the light is emitted from lightsource 402 towards surface 404. While FIGS. 4A-4B show light emittedfrom light source 402 at two different angles, it should be appreciatedthat light may be emitted towards surface 404 from any suitable numberof angles and from any suitable location (and reflected light may bereceived by camera 406 positioned at any suitable location).

Light source 402 may be any source of light configured to emit NIRlight, e.g., sunlight, incandescent lights, certain LEDs, lasers, laserdiodes, etc. In some embodiments, surface 404 may be placed on platform408, where light source 402 may be coupled to platform 408 by way of arm409, and camera 406 may be coupled to platform 408 by way of arm 411.Platform 408 may be in communication with computer 434 (e.g., via awired or wireless connection) to receive control signals instructingmovement and/or rotation of a mechanism (e.g., arms 409 and/or 411) tocause light source 402 and/or camera 406 to be moved relative to surface404 when emitting light from a plurality of angles towards surface 404.In some embodiments, platform 408 may comprise a motor coupled to arms409 to cause translation and/or rotation of light source 402 and/orcamera 406. In some embodiments, a manually operative mechanismalternatively may be utilized to vary the location of light source 402and camera 406, such that light source 402 may be elevated, lowered, ormoved transversely in order to emit light from different angles towardssurface 404, and/or may be configured to rotate about its axis to emitlight from different angles towards surface 404. In some embodiments,camera 406 may be placed on a corresponding platform and/or manuallyoperated to capture light reflecting off surface 404 from multipleangles, and the location of camera 406 may be varied (e.g., based oncontrol signals from computer 434) to enable camera 406 to capture light412, 416 reflecting off surface 404.

In some embodiments, computer 434 may correspond to one or morecomputing device that is onboard vehicle 200 and/or one or more remoteservers configured to provide cloud computing resources. For example,surface 404 may be positioned in or form a part of vehicle 200, andwhile vehicle 200 is being moved, light source 402 (which may in someembodiments comprise a stationary light source such as the sun) mayirradiate surface 404. Based on light reflected by surface 404, camera406 (alone or in combination with computer 434) may determine whetherglare is present. In some embodiments, computer 434 (or other computingequipment in communication with computer 434) may be configured to storeone or more light characteristics (e.g., position, angle, intensity) ofthe light received from the sun and reflected by vehicle 200 based on,e.g., positioning data, accelerometers, time of day, weather, etc. Insome embodiments, such data may be gathered during test drives or othertraveling by vehicle 200, e.g., data may be gathered continuously asusers drive around. For example, computer 434 may predict a location ofglare at least in part by identifying, based on the stored data, aposition of the sun during a current time of day, as discussed infurther detail below.

Surface 404 may be any surface that a user desires to characterizenear-infrared glare information of. For example, surface 404 maycorrespond to a display surface of vehicle 200 (e.g., a dashboarddisplay 306, 308 or a head-up display at windshield 320). Camera 406,alone or in combination with another computing device 434 (e.g., whichcamera 406 may communicate with wirelessly or by wire via I/O circuitry116 of FIG. 1 , and which light source 402 and/or platform 408 may be incommunication with), may determine near-infrared glare information basedon light (e.g., 416, 418, 420, 428, 430, 432) reflected off surface 404.Such near-infrared glare information may indicate how much reflectedlight results in glare as a function of an angle of surface 404 withrespect to light source 402, and over a range of angles, how reflectedlight is dispersed or distributed and how that relates to glare, anddifferent patterns of the reflected light when light source 402 isplaced at certain angles relative to surface 404.

In some embodiments, system 400 of FIGS. 4A-4B may be employed in thedesign phase of vehicles (e.g., vehicle 200). For example, whenselecting a suitable material or surface to be used as a component(e.g., steering wheel 304, display 306, display 308, windshield 320) inthe construction of vehicle 200, candidate materials (e.g., coatings forwindshield 320, glass for windshield 320, driver window, passengerwindows, etc.) or surfaces of such components may be used as surface404, to determine near-infrared glare properties based on analysis bycamera 406 and/or another computing device of the image data at variousangles. In addition, an optimal angle and orientation of surface 404within vehicle 200 may be identified to minimize glare. In this way,components with optimal glare properties may be selected during thevehicle design process. In addition to providing tools to analyze theimage data, such aspects may enable those involved in the vehicle designprocess to visually observe the images output by camera 406 (e.g., atcomputer 434) to identify the severity of reflection glares with varyingsun lighting conditions (e.g., at various amplitudes and variousincident angles), thereby allowing for quantitative and qualitativestudy of glare information.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of components of a system of a vehicle inwhich an image sensor may be configured to generate image data for usein determining near-infrared glare information, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. Vehicle 500 may correspond tovehicle 200 of FIG. 2 . Vehicle 500 may be a car (e.g., a coupe, asedan, a truck, an SUV, a bus), a motorcycle, an aircraft (e.g., adrone), a watercraft (e.g., a boat), or any other type of vehicle.

Vehicle 500 may comprise processing circuitry 502 which may compriseprocessor 504 and memory 506. Processor 504 and memory 506 maycorrespond to processor 112 and memory 114 of FIG. 1 , respectively.Processor 504 may comprise a hardware processor, a software processor(e.g., a processor emulated using a virtual machine), or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, processor 504 and memory 506 incombination may be referred to as processing circuitry 502 of vehicle500. In some embodiments, processor 504 alone may be referred to asprocessing circuitry 502 of vehicle 500. Memory 506 may comprisehardware elements for non-transitory storage of commands orinstructions, that, when executed by processor 504, cause processor 504to operate vehicle 500 in accordance with embodiments described aboveand below. Processing circuitry 502 may be communicatively connected tocomponents of vehicle 500 via one or more wires, or via wirelessconnection.

Image sensor 522 may correspond to image sensor 106 of FIG. 1 , andimage sensor 522 may be communicatively coupled to processing circuitry502 (e.g., by way of sensor interface 514). In some embodiments,processing performed by processor 112 of FIG. 1 may be performed atleast in part by processor 504. For example, image sensor 522 maytransmit to processing circuitry 502 image data detected based onnear-infrared light reflected by a surface (e.g., display 306 of FIG. 3), and processing circuitry 502 may evaluate intensity of pixels of theimage data to determine whether glare is present at particular regionsof the image data (e.g., by comparing determined pixel intensities to athreshold). Based on this evaluation, processing circuitry may adjust aparameter of display 306, e.g., processing circuitry 502 may causeoutput circuitry 510 to increase brightness of one or more portions ofdisplay 306 by a predetermined amount to be higher than a brightnessassociated with detected glare, and/or processing circuitry 502 maycause output circuitry 510 to increase a contrast ratio at such portionof display 306 (e.g., to increase a contrast between edges of objectsdepicted at the identified portion of display 306). Such aspects mayenable automatic brightness tuning and local color toning and/or colormapping of display 306, to enhance the overall perception and lifespanof automotive infotainment systems and displays. In some embodiments,certain regions of image may not be adjusted (e.g., since such regionsmay be determined not to be associated with glare, or, even ifassociated with glare, such regions may be deemed to correspond tocomponents of the vehicle or portions of the display the driver isunlikely to direct his or her vision at). In some embodiments,identifying glare in certain regions of the image data and/or a certainnumber of regions of the image data and/or a certain percentage ofregions of the image data may be used in determining whether glare ispresent and/or a distribution of glare.

Processor 504 may perform processing (e.g., edge detection, objectrecognition, computer vision techniques) on the image data received fromimage sensor 522 to identify which region of the image data depictsdisplay 306, and which portions of display 306 should be adjusted tocompensate for glare (and which portions may not need not be adjusted).For example, pixel distance within the image data may be mapped to alocation of display 306 based on known dimensions of objects within theimage data (e.g., the system may store a length of display 306, adistance from camera 211 to display 306, and use these relationships tocorrelate pixel distance to real world distance). In some embodiments,multiple cameras 211 at different locations may be employed in a stereovision process, where each output image data comprising a depiction ofdisplay 306 and a projection matrix of each camera 211 in the stereovision process may be used to map a pixel location in the image data toa location in display 306. In some embodiments, camera 110 may beconfigured to focus image sensor 106 on components of vehicle likely tobe susceptible to glare, e.g., display 306. For example, image data maycorrespond to a zoomed-in depiction of display 306 and/or display 308,and/or regions of image data other than the objects of interest may beexcluded from the image.

Processing circuitry 502 may be communicatively connected to inputinterface 516 (e.g., a steering wheel, a touch screen on display 306 ordisplay 308, buttons, knobs, a microphone or other audio capture device,etc.) via input circuitry 508. In some embodiments, a driver of vehicle500 may be permitted to select certain settings in connection with theoperation of vehicle 500 (e.g., which displays or portions thereofshould be adjusted if glare is detected, inputting certain information,etc.). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 502 may becommunicatively connected to GPS system 534 of vehicle 500, where thedriver may interact with the GPS system via input interface 516. GPSsystem 534 may be in communication with multiple satellites to ascertainthe driver's location and provide navigation directions to processingcircuitry 502.

In some circumstances, sensitivity to glare may vary based on a driver'sage. For example, an older driver may be irritated by certain glarecharacteristics that a younger driver may not be bothered by. Inputcircuitry 508 may provide an interface for the driver to enter his orher age, or one or more sensors of vehicle 500 may otherwise detect thedriver's age, which may allow processing circuitry to more aggressivelyadjust parameters to counteract glare (e.g., lower the threshold pixelintensity to be compared to pixel intensity of the image data prior totaking corrective action). In some embodiments, input circuitry 508 mayreceive input from a driver indicating whether a driver is satisfiedwith the actions being taken to counteract glare, to learn thepreferences of the driver, and incorporate this feedback intoprospective actions to counteract glare.

Processing circuitry 502 may be communicatively connected to display 512and speaker 515 by way of output circuitry 510. Display 512 may belocated at a dashboard of vehicle 500 (e.g., display 512 may correspondto display 306 and/or display 308 of FIG. 3 ) and/or a heads-up displayat a windshield (e.g., windshield 320 of FIG. 3 ) of vehicle 500. Forexample, an interface for GPS system 534 or an interface of aninfotainment system may be generated for display, and display 512 maycomprise an LCD display, an OLED display, an LED display, or any othertype of display. Speaker 515 may be located at any location within thecabin of vehicle 500, e.g., at the dashboard of vehicle 500, on aninterior portion of the vehicle door. As discussed above and below,display parameters of display 512 may be adjusted in response todetermining NIR glare information associated with one or more portionsof display 512.

Processing circuitry 502 may be communicatively connected (e.g., by wayof sensor interface 514) to sensors (e.g., front sensor 524, rear sensor526, left side sensor 528, right side sensor 530, orientation sensor518, speed sensor 520). Orientation sensor 518 may be an inclinometer,an accelerometer, a tiltmeter, any other pitch sensor, or anycombination thereof and may be configured to provide vehicle orientationvalues (e.g., vehicle's pitch and/or vehicle's roll) to processingcircuitry 502. Speed sensor 520 may be one of a speedometer, a GPSsensor, or the like, or any combination thereof, and may be configuredto provide a reading of the vehicle's current speed to processingcircuitry 502. Front sensor 524, rear sensor 526, left side sensor 528,and/or right side sensor 530 may be positioned at a variety of locationsof vehicle 500, and may be one or more of a variety of types, e.g., animage sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, LED sensor, LIDARsensor, etc., configured to measure the distance between vehicle 500 andan object in a surrounding environment of the vehicle (e.g., byoutputting a light or radio wave signal, and measuring a time for areturn signal to be detected and/or an intensity of the returned signal,and/or performing image processing on images captured by the imagesensor of the surrounding environment of vehicle 500).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 502 may synthesize data frommultiple sensors in determining how to adjust parameters of display 512.For example, processing circuitry may determine, based on input receivedfrom a position sensor (e.g., GPS system 534, front sensor 524, rearsensor 526, left side sensor 528, right side sensor 530, orientationsensor 518, speed sensor 520) that a change in an orientation of vehicle500 is occurring or is about to occur. For example, processing circuitry502 may determine based on sensor data received from orientation sensor518 (or GPS data from GPS system 534 or speed data from speed sensor520) that vehicle 500 is turning or is navigating a bend, or based onsensor data received from front sensor 524 that vehicle 500 is about tonavigate a bend or turn. For example, the anticipated turn may bedetermined based on GPS system 534 indicating an upcoming bend in acurrent navigation route. Processing circuitry 502 may generate aprediction, based on the NIR glare information received from imagesensor 522 and the sensor data from the position sensor (e.g.,orientation sensor 518, front sensor 524, rear sensor 526, etc.) of alocation on display 306 where glare is likely to be present in responseto the change in the orientation of vehicle 500. For example, processingcircuitry 502 may determine that glare is currently associated with aparticular portion of display 306, and identify another portion ofdisplay 306 that such glare is likely to shift based on the actual oranticipated change in orientation of vehicle 500.

In some embodiments, a position of the sun based on a particularlocation and/or time of day and/or orientation data may be determined byprocessing circuitry 502. For example, such information may be stored atone or more of memory 506, user device 538, and/or remote server 240.Processing circuitry 502 may continuously determine the exact positionof the sun by comparing sensor data and a current time to such storedinformation, and determine whether glare if present and a distributionof glare based on the determined position of the sun relative to vehicle500. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 502 may receive orotherwise determine current weather information, and such weatherinformation may be utilized to predict an amplitude of the sun, whichmay be taken into account in determining whether glare is present.Additionally or alternatively, certain traits of vehicle 500, e.g., asize and position of windshield 320, roof, windows, sunroof, etc. may beknown and stored for use in predicting a reflection glare location. Forexample, processing circuitry 502 may calculate the sun's exact positionrelative to vehicle 500 based on location data and time/date, and basedon the determined location of sunroof of vehicle 500, processingcircuitry 502 may predict that when vehicle 500 is at a certain positionand a particular roll/pitch/yaw (e.g., determined based on data fromorientation sensor 518), the sun will be shining through the sunroof andonto display 306 and/or 308. In some embodiments, glare may bedetermined based on the position and heading of vehicle 500, incombination with tracking the glare shift (or without separatelytracking the glare shift).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 502 may be in communication(e.g., via communications circuitry 536) with user device 538 (e.g., amobile device, a computer, a key fob, etc.). Such connection may bewired or wireless. In some embodiments, user device 538 may enable adriver to view, and/or configure settings associated with, near-infraredglare information associated with vehicle 500. In some embodiments,communications circuitry 536 and/or user device 538 may be incommunication with one or more servers 540 (e.g., over a communicationsnetwork such as, for example, the Internet, WAN, LAN, satellite network,cellular network, etc.), which may be configured to provide informationrelated to determining whether glare is present, and provide updateddisplays based on determined glare information.

Processing circuitry 502 may be communicatively connected to batterysystem 532, which may be configured to provide power to one or more ofthe components of vehicle 500 during operation. In some embodiments,vehicle 500 may be an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle.

It should be appreciated that FIG. 5 only shows some of the componentsof vehicle 500, and it will be understood that vehicle 500 also includesother elements commonly found in vehicles (e.g., electric vehicles),e.g., a motor, brakes, wheels, wheel controls, turn signals, windows,doors, etc.

FIG. 6 shows an image 602 of a vehicle dashboard (e.g., comprisingdisplay 306 of FIG. 3 ) captured by a camera that does not includelongpass near-infrared filter 104 that is employed in some embodimentsof the present disclosure. In image 602 captured by such camera thatdoes not employ longpass near-infrared filter 104, it may be difficultto detect (and for an observer to discern) glare caused by reflectedlight due to the spectral overlap between the solar irradiance spectrumand the visible light (RGB colors) from the display. Even if processingis performed on image 602 (e.g., when image 602 is a color image, toconvert image 602 to a black and white image, or a grayscale image,based on intensity values of image 602, as shown in processed images 604and 606), it remains difficult to determine whether glare is present,due to a low signal-to-noise-ratio (the sunlight being the signal) ofprocessed images 604, 606. For example, depending on darkness settingsassociated with the processing, the processed image either (erroneously)appears not to have any glare as shown in image 606, or is too dark toconvey any meaningful information as shown in image 606, and thus it isdifficult to determine if glare is present in any region of image 602.

FIG. 7 shows an image 704 of a vehicle dashboard (e.g., comprisingdisplay 306 of FIG. 3 ) captured by camera 110 comprising longpassnear-infrared filter 104, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As can be seen in the side-by-side comparison ofimage 702 and image 704 of FIG. 7 , camera 110 comprising longpassnear-infrared filter 104 captures image 704 and enables image 704 have afar superior signal-to-noise ratio for detecting glare information ascompared to image 702 (which corresponds to image 602 of FIG. 6 ). Forexample, generally brighter regions of image 704 (e.g., having pixelswith relatively higher intensities), such as region 706 of image 704,may correspond to regions of image 704 that are subjected to glare,whereas generally darker regions of image 704 (e.g., having pixels withrelatively lower intensities), such as region 708 of image 704, maycorrespond to regions of image 704 that are not associated with glare.Thus, image 704 may be analyzed by processor 112 of camera 110 and/orprocessor 504 of FIG. 5 to determine near-infrared glare information,and in addition such information may be readily ascertained visually byan observer of image 704. In the example of FIG. 7 , a longpassnear-infrared filter at 950 nm is utilized, as well as a silicon-basedCCD or CMOS, and thus a detected near-infrared portion of lightreflected by display 306 comprises light in the 950-1200 nm range.However, it should be appreciated that a longpass near-infrared filterat any suitable wavelength may be utilized to facilitate the detectionof light in the near-infrared range, and that a germanium-based CCD orCMOS may be utilized, e.g., capable of detecting wavelengths of 900-2600nm.

FIG. 8 shows images 802, 804, 806 of a vehicle dashboard (e.g.,comprising display 306 of FIG. 3 ) captured by camera 110 comprisinglongpass near-infrared filter 104 from various angles, in accordancewith some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, image 802is captured from a lower left perspective (e.g., 45 degree angle)relative to display 306, image 804 is captured along a same plane asdisplay 306 and from a right hand side of display 306, and image 806 iscaptured from a lower right perspective (e.g., a 45 degree angle)relative to display 306. It should be appreciated that any number ofimages of display 306, from any combination of perspectives, may becaptured by camera 110. In the example of FIG. 7 , a longpassnear-infrared filter at 950 nm is utilized, as well as a silicon-basedCCD or CMOS, and thus a detected near-infrared portion of lightreflected by display 306 comprises light in the 950-1200 nm range.However, it should be appreciated that a longpass near-infrared filterat any suitable wavelength may be utilized to facilitate the detectionof light in the near-infrared range, and that a germanium-based CCD orCMOS may be utilized, e.g., capable of detecting wavelengths of 900-2600nm. Processor 112 may transmit image data associated with capturedimages 802, 804, 806 to processing circuitry 502, and processingcircuitry may determine aggregated near-infrared glare information basedon the combined images 802, 804, 806 and cause output circuitry adjustone or more parameters of display 306 based on the aggregatednear-infrared glare information.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative flowchart of a process 900 for determiningnear-infrared glare information, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure. Process 900 may be executed by processing circuitry(e.g., processor 112 of FIG. 1 and/or processing circuitry 502 of FIG. 5). Process 900 may be utilized in a design phase (e.g., as discussed inconnection with FIG. 4A-4B) and/or for in-vehicle glare compensation(e.g., as discussed in connection with FIGS. 2-3 ).

At 902, light 101 that enters camera 110 through lens 102 afterreflecting off a surface (e.g., display 306 of FIG. 3 , surface 404 ofFIG. 4 ) is received. Light 101 comprises a visible light portion and anear-infrared (NIR) light portion.

At 904, the visible light portion of light 101 reflected by the surfaceis attenuated. For example, longpass optical filter 104 may be used tohighly attenuate the visible light portion and pass NIR light 105 withlow attenuation. The NIR light having passed through optical filter 104may be detected by image sensor 106.

At 906, image data may be generated by image sensor 106 based on thedetected NIR portion of light 101 reflected by the surface, e.g.,surface 306 or 404. In some embodiments, image sensor 106 may be a CCDor CMOS sensor of camera 110. Such image data may be used in determiningwhether glare is present. In some embodiments, a distribution of glaremay be determined based on the image data.

At 908, the image data from image sensor 106 is received by a processor(e.g., processor 112 of FIG. 1 and/or processor 504 of FIG. 5 ). Forexample, processor 112 may receive the image data and transmit the imagedata via I/O circuitry 116 to processor 504, for further processing, orprocessor 112 may perform such processing.

In an illustrative example, the received image data may correspond toimage 1201 of FIG. 12 . FIG. 12 shows an exemplary technique of usingimage data to determine near-infrared glare information, in accordancewith some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, processor112 and/or processor 504 may determine, based on image data 1201,location 1212 of display 1210 at which glare is present. Image 1201 maycomprise regions 1202 and 1204 respectively corresponding to images ofdisplay 308 and 306 of vehicle 200, and image 1201 may have beencaptured by camera 211 of FIG. 2 , e.g., disposed at a location that isin a vicinity of a head rest location of operator seat 202 of vehicle200.

At 910, processor 112 and/or processor 504 may determine NIR glareinformation based on the received image data. For example, the imagedata corresponding to image 1201 may comprise a plurality of pixels, andprocessor 112 and/or processor 504 may analyze respective intensityvalues of such pixels to determine NIR information. In some embodiments,processor 112 and/or processor 504 may determine that a particularregion 1204 of the image data is associated with glare 1208 if apredefined amount of pixels in region 1206 are associated with anintensity value above a predetermined threshold. On the other hand,region 1202 (e.g., corresponding to display 308) of image 1201 may bedetermined not to be associated with glare if less than a predefinedamount of pixels in region 1202 are associated with an intensity valueabove the predetermined threshold. In some embodiments, processor 112and/or processor 504 may identify multiple regions of the image datathat are associated with glare, and may determine certain patterns ordistribution of glare within the image data. In some embodiments,multiple images may be captured by camera 110, and the NIR informationmay be determined based on an analysis of the multiple images incombination.

Image processing (e.g., edge detection, object recognition, computervision techniques) may be performed on image 1201 to map regions of theimage data of image 1201 to portions of display 1210 (e.g. of vehicle200), to determine which portions of display 1210 should be adjusted tocompensate for glare (and which portions may not need to be adjusted).For example, pixel distance within the image data may be mapped to alocation 1212 of display 1210 based on known dimensions of objectswithin the image data (e.g., the system may store a length of display1210, a distance from camera 211 to display 1210, and use theserelationships to correlate pixel distance to real world distance). Aftersuch mapping of the glare in the image data to display 1210, one or moreparameters of display 1210 may be adjusted to counteract the detectedglare.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of illustrative process 1000 for adjusting aparameter associated with a display of a vehicle to counteract glare, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Process 1000may be executed by processing circuitry (e.g., processor 112 of FIG. 1of camera 110 and/or processing circuitry 502 of vehicle 200) of camera110 and/or vehicle 200.

At 1002, image sensor 106 of FIG. 1 , which may correspond to imagesensor 522 of FIG. 5 positioned in vehicle 500 near operator 204 of FIG.2 , may detect an NIR portion of light that is reflected 214, 216, 218by an interior 300 of vehicle 200 of FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, imagesensor 106 of camera 211 may be disposed at a location that is in avicinity of a head rest location of operator seat 202 of vehicle 200,e.g., on a shoulder of driver seat 202, and/or a ceiling of vehicle 200.The NIR portion of light may be detected after having passed throughlongpass optical filter 104, and may have been reflected off one or moresurfaces of vehicle 200, e.g., steering wheel 304, display 306, display308, windshield 320, side view mirror 322, etc.

At 1004, processor 112 of FIG. 1 and/or processor 504 of FIG. 5 mayreceive the image data generated by image sensor 106, comprising thedetected near-infrared portion of light reflected by the interior 300 ofvehicle 200, from image sensor 106. For example, processor 112 mayreceive the image data and transmit the image data via I/O circuitry 116to processor 504, for further processing, or processor 112 may performsuch processing.

In some embodiments, vehicle 200 may include multiple image sensors 106offset from driver 204 of vehicle 200 to capture image data within apredefined period of time. For example, an image sensor may not bepositioned directly in front of driver 204, but rather one image sensormay be located at a shoulder of a head rest of driver seat 202 (and/or apassenger seat), and another image sensor may be located at a ceiling ofvehicle 200. For example, referring additionally to FIG. 13 , a firstimage sensor may capture image 1302 of FIG. 13 , and another imagesensor may capture image 1306. Image data from image 1302 may compriseregion 1304 which is associated with glare, and image 1306 may compriseregion 1308 which is associated with glare.

At 1006, processor 112 of FIG. 1 and/or processor 504 of FIG. 5 mayanalyze the received image data. 1006 may be performed in a similarmanner as 908 of FIG. 9 . In some embodiments, processor 112 of FIG. 1and/or processor 504 may interpolate image 1310 of FIG. 13 comprisingregion 1308 associated with glare, based on input images 1304 and 1306,to estimate how regions 1304 and 1308 appear to driver 204 (e.g., in thevehicle display). In some embodiments, any suitable adaptive ornon-adaptive image interpolation algorithm may be employed to estimatepixel locations for image 1310. In some embodiments, image data of asingle image may be analyzed rather than multiple images.

At 1008, processor 112 of FIG. 1 and/or processor 504 of FIG. 5determines, based on the image analysis performed at 1006, whether glareis present on display 306 or 308 of vehicle 200 based on thenear-infrared glare information. Processing proceeds to 1010 upondetermining that glare is present in the analyzed image data. Upondetermining that glare is not present in the analyzed image data,processing may proceed to 1002.

At 1010, processor 504 of FIG. 5 may adjust a parameter associated withdisplay 306 to counteract the glare while vehicle 200 of FIG. 2 is inoperation. For example, processor 504 may cause output circuitry 510 ofFIG. 5 to increase a brightness level of a portion of display 306 thatcorresponds to a region of pixels that are determined to be associatedwith glare. The brightness may be increased to a level that exceeds anintensity value of the region of pixels associated with glare, to enableoperator 204 to perceive information presented on display 306 even inthe presence of glare. In some embodiments, a contrast ratio of display306 may be adjusted (e.g., increased) to counteract glare, or outputcircuitry 510 may perform color mapping (e.g., in a situation withextreme glare, a display of various colors may be adjusted to a blackand white display to enable operator 204 to perceive informationpresented on display 306). Region 1308, associated with glare of image1310, may be mapped to a location at display 306, in accordance with thetechniques discussed in connection with FIG. 12 .

In some embodiments, the NIR information may be synthesized with sensordata from a position sensor (e.g., orientation sensor 518) to determinethat a change in orientation of vehicle 200 may be occurring or may beabout to occur, and may predict a portion of display 306 that glare islikely to be associated with when the orientation change occurs.Processing circuitry 502 may adjust parameters of display 306 inaccordance with the prediction, to enhance the user experience bycorrecting portions of display 306 in anticipation of expected glare.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of illustrative process for outputtingnear-infrared glare properties, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure. Process 1100 may be executed by processingcircuitry (e.g., processor 112 of FIG. 1 and/or processing circuitry 502of FIG. 5 ).

At 1102, light source 402 may be caused (e.g., by an operator, or by wayof processing circuitry coupled to light source 402) to irradiate asurface 404 with light from a plurality of angles, where the lightcomprises a near-infrared portion having passed through longpass filter104 of FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, light source 402 may be any sourceof light configured to emit NIR light, e.g., sunlight, incandescentlights, certain LEDs, lasers, laser diodes. In some embodiments, lightsource 402 may be placed on platform 408, which may be elevated and/orrotated to irradiate surface 404 from the plurality of angles.

At 1104, image sensor 106 may detect image data based on thenear-infrared portion of light reflected by surface 404 (e.g., light412, 416) in response to irradiating surface 404 with light (e.g., 410,414) from the plurality of angles. The light detected by image sensor106 may have passed through longpass optical filter 104 of FIG. 1 ,configured to attenuate a visible light portion of the light.

At 1106, for each of the plurality of angles, a processor (e.g.,processor 112 of FIG. 1 which may be included in camera 406 of FIG. 4and/or a processor of computer 434) may process the image data receivedfrom image sensor 106 to determine an amount of near-infrared glare, inorder to characterize near-infrared glare properties of surface 404. Forexample, the image data may comprise a plurality of pixels, and anintensity of the pixels may be identified at each of a plurality ofangles that light source 402 irradiates light towards surface 404. Thus,an optimal material and/or orientation of the material of surface 404may be determined to minimize the impact of glare on surface 404. Forexample, a range of suitable materials can be tested as candidatecomponents for a system (e.g., a steering wheel of a vehicle, awindshield of a vehicle), and that the material having the least amountof glare (e.g., lowest maximum intensity level of pixels) can beselected. In some embodiments, such near-infrared properties may berepresented as a percentage of light that is reflected and/ordistribution and/or scattering properties of the reflected light.

At 1108, the determined near-infrared glare properties may be output(e.g., at computing device 434) in any suitable format. For example, thenear-infrared glare properties may be output as an intensity curve, asshown in FIG. 14 , as a function of radial distance from the center ofthe depicted glare. FIG. 14 shows an exemplary image representingnear-infrared glare properties of a surface, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. For example, darker portions 1402at a center of circle 1401 of output image 1400 may represent higherintensity pixel values, whereas lighter portions 1404 may represent, ata perimeter of circle 1401 depicted in image 1400, lower intensity pixelvalues. For example, darker portions 1402 may correspond to pixels thatare associated with glare. In some embodiments, lighter portions ofimage 1400 may represent portions associated with glare, whereas darkerportions of image 1400 may represent portions determined not to beassociated with glare. The pixel intensity values may decrease from acenter of circle 1401 depicted in image 1400 to an outer portion of thecircle of image 1400. For example, arrows 1410 may illustrate a gradientfrom the intense pixel values to the least intense pixel values. In someembodiments, pixel intensity values may be compared to a predeterminedintensity threshold value. For example, darker portion 1402 may bedetermined to correspond to a pixel intensity value meeting or exceedingthe predetermined intensity threshold value. In some embodiments,depending on the predetermined intensity threshold value, pixels oflesser intensity values (e.g., pixels at one or more of portion 1406and/or portion 1408) may also be determined to correspond to pixelsassociated with glare, in determining whether glare is present.

For example, if a relatively small size light source 402 is used andsurface 404 scatters only a small amount of reflected light 412, 416,then processing circuitry of one or more of camera 110, computing device434, vehicle 500 may determine that a relatively small number of pixelsin a particular region are associated with glare. On the other hand,such processing circuitry may determine, e.g., when surface 404 scattersa significant amount of light and/or light source 402 is larger, that arelatively large number of pixels are associated with glare. Asscattering increases, the amount of affected pixels increases, and theprocessing circuitry may generate for output an intensity curve (e.g.,as illustrated in FIG. 14 ) as a function of radial distance from thecenter of circle 1401. In some embodiments, processing circuitry of oneor more of camera 110, computing device 434, vehicle 500 may determine asize of a region impacted by glare. For example, if it is determinedthat region 1402 is below a threshold size, it may be determined thatcorrective action is not needed, even if glare is present, and/or that aparticular material exhibiting such glare properties may still besuitable in terms of near-infrared glare properties. On other hand, if asize of a particular region is determined to be above a threshold size,it may be determined that corrective action is needed, and/or that thematerial exhibiting such properties is not suitable in terms ofnear-infrared glare properties. It should be appreciated that circle1401 is an illustrative shape, and any suitable shape or representationmay be utilized to convey glare information in the example of FIG. 14 .

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of thisdisclosure, and various modifications may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Theabove-described embodiments are presented for purposes of illustrationand not of limitation. The present disclosure also can take many formsother than those explicitly described herein. Accordingly, it isemphasized that this disclosure is not limited to the explicitlydisclosed methods, systems, and apparatuses, but is intended to includevariations to and modifications thereof, which are within the spirit ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for counteracting glare in a vehicle,the method comprising: receiving image data, comprising a portion oflight reflected by an interior surface of a vehicle, from an imagesensor in the vehicle; determining glare information based on thereceived image data; determining whether glare is present on a displayof the vehicle based on the glare information; and in response todetermining that glare is present, adjusting a parameter associated withthe display to counteract the glare.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe portion of light is a near-infrared portion of light, and the glareinformation is near-infrared glare information.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the parameter comprises at least one of a contrast ratio orbrightness.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising; determining,based on input received from one or more position sensors, that a changein an orientation of the vehicle is occurring or is about to occur; andgenerating, based on the determined change in the orientation and basedon the glare information, a prediction of a location on the displaywhere glare is likely to be present in response to the change in theorientation of the vehicle, wherein the adjusting of the parameter isperformed based on the prediction.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theimage sensor is disposed at a location that is in a vicinity of a headrest location of an operator seat of the vehicle.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the display is located at a dashboard of the vehicle or at aheads-up display at a windshield of the vehicle.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein: the image data comprises a plurality of pixels; determiningwhether glare is present on the display of the vehicle based on theglare information comprises determining glare is present at a region ofimage data that corresponds to the display; and adjusting the parameterassociated with the display to counteract the glare comprises adjustinga parameter in a portion of the display that corresponds to the regionof the image data where glare is present and not adjusting the parameterin a different portion of the display.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein: determining glare is present at the region of image data thatcorresponds to the display comprises: determining, for each pixel of theplurality of pixels, respective intensity values; and identifyingmultiple pixels of the plurality of pixels having an intensity valuethat exceeds a predetermined threshold intensity value.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein: determining glare is present at the region of imagedata that corresponds to the display further comprises determining glareis present at multiple regions of the image data, wherein each of themultiple regions comprises a separate grouping of a subset of theidentified multiple pixels, at least one of the regions corresponding tothe display and at least one of the regions corresponding to anadditional display; and adjusting the parameter associated with thedisplay to counteract the glare further comprises adjusting a parameterin a portion of the additional display that corresponds to the region ofthe image data where glare is present and not adjusting the parameter ina different portion of the additional display.